Nov. 11, 2013 – University of Houston Law Center alumnus Jeff Brown was ceremonially sworn in as a Justice of the Texas Supreme Court today by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Brown, UHLC class of ’95, and Chief Justice Nathan Hecht each placed their left hand on the Sam Houston Bible in the packed Texas House chamber and promised to defend the laws and Constitution of the United States.

Brown and Hecht assumed their new duties in early October after taking their oaths privately. Today’s ceremony was a public celebration of the court and the justices, combined with multiple reminders of Veterans Day and those who served.

Brown was on the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston when Gov. Rick Perry appointed him to the high court. Hecht, who has served on the court since 1989, replaced Wallace Jefferson, who resigned as chief justice to re-enter private law practice.